Dangerous Games Play, Pleasure and Panics

Dangerous Games Play, Pleasure and Panics AQA examiner Steph Hendry considers the long history of public concerns about both the dangers of popular culture and the attempts made to control and sanitise it. The pursuits of the masses in their leisure time have long been seen as potential sources of social, moral and cultural decline. Many methods of control have been put in place to protect those seen as vulnerable from entertainments that were assumed to be potentially corrupting. In 1807, for example, Thomas Bowdler wrote new versions of Shakespeare for families, removing passages that were deemed inappropriate either in terms of the content or the language used; while in the 1940s comic book reading was seen as deviant and potentially dangerous behaviour, continuing to be pilloried into the 50s and 60s, with a National Union of Teachers campaign against the evils of American imported horror comics. Today the release of a computer game or film still has the potential to generate controversy, and different media forms are monitored, reported on and at times censured should any media text be judged to be inappropriate, too rude, too violent or offensive. New cultural forms have often been seen as potentially dangerous especially forms that are radically different from previous ones, or those that use new technologies. In the early days of the cinema, concerns were raised about the images and ideas that Hollywood was offering its steadily growing audience. The Hays Code was in place in Hollywood between the 1930s and 1960s and, even though it was a voluntary code, it managed to restrict filmmaking in ensuring that specific representations were avoided and certain moral values upheld. The representation of ministers of religion could not be comic or villainous and excessive and lustful kissing could not be shown. In Britain we still have the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) which classifies films and often suggests cuts to keep films within certain certification classifications. The BBFC can refuse a classification for a film if it does not fit with current ideas of acceptable taste and decency. A recent example of this was the controversy over The Human Centipede series. The second of these films was refused a certificate until 32 cuts were made removing some of the more extreme images of violence. The history of the mass media is littered with examples of censorship, banning, moral outrage and controversy. Self-defined guardians of moral decency such as tabloid newspapers, influential pressure groups such as Media Watch, highly visible websites like Mumsnet and even Twitter all seem to focus most often on the same three areas when raising concerns about media texts: sex, violence and escapist fantasy. Sex n Drugs n Rock n Roll Pop music has often been a site for moral panic particularly regarding adolescent sexuality. Rock and Roll s first big star, Elvis Presley, was seen to represent subversive sexuality and hedonism by conservative factions in the USA and (albeit to a lesser extent) the UK. Due to public concerns, Presley s performance, specifically his gyrating hips was censored; his Ed Sullivan Show performance in 1957 could only be shown from the waist upwards. The moral panic that grew around Presley identified a distinct generation gap a disconnect between the older and younger generations where the adults simply didn t get young people s culture and the young people saw adults as being square and out of touch. Pop music has returned as a point of controversy many times over the years. Two infamous examples are the omission of The Sex Pistols from the singles chart in June 1977. This was the week of the Queen s Silver Jubilee and the week when God Save the Queen was the biggest selling single. The published chart listing simply left the No. 1 slot blank. A ban could sometimes be the best thing to happen to an artist as it would create publicity and generate public attention. In 1984, the Radio One DJ Mike Reid decided to declare

Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood sexually inappropriate for Radio One audiences and the BBC subsequently banned the song. The following week it went to number one in the charts and remained there for five weeks, selling over a million copies. It was 1984 s second biggest selling single after Live Aid s Feed the World. The ban was soon lifted; but this begs the question as to what people thought would happen if people listened to the sexual innuendo of Relax. Fear and panic about media texts tends not to bear much logical analysis; the panics generally come from an irrational fear which, ironically, is in part generated by the media itself. The fear and panic is often communicated and amplified by the media themselves. In 1985 the Parental Advisory label began to appear on CDs and cassettes in an attempt to pre-warn the buying public of troublesome content. Like many bans and restrictions before it, the RIAA parental advisory sticker probably acted as a marketing tool generating interest rather than subduing it. These examples may seem quaint and old fashioned; but music continues to be the site of modern concerns regarding sexual imagery and behaviour. Artists such as Rihanna have been cited as examples of a trend towards the overt sexualisation of pop lyrics and video imagery. It is a similar argument to the one made in the 1950s when Elvis shocked the world Rihanna was seen as a threat to decency when she performed on The X Factor wearing a skimpy outfit in December 2010. Direct Effect Theory When looking at some of the responses to controversial media texts it s possible to see the general acceptance of an idea that is based on a largely discredited audience theory the hypodermic syringe theory. This theory claims that the media injects its passive audience members with ideas, values and attitudes that can directly influence behaviour. This simple cause and effect perspective of media influence fails to address the complexities that make up the collective audience and indeed its individual members. To assume that people are susceptible to the extent that they can be directly influenced in this way does not give people any credit for personal moral and behavioural decision-making. Clearly some individuals are more easily influenced than others, but the idea that the media can corrupt or be the direct cause of violent behaviour seems actively disproven by the fact that we are not living in a lawless, violent dystopia. The idea that the media has a direct effect on people is often used by tabloid newspapers and politicians when responding to violent events. Of the many examples often cited are the claims that the music of Marilyn Manson and the game Doom were to blame for the Columbine High School shootings; and that the film Child s Play was influential in the murder of Jamie Bulger. A belief in the direct influence of the media led to Oliver Stone being taken to court accused of being responsible for crimes which were allegedly influenced by his film Natural Born Killers. The case was dismissed in 2001 when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence that the filmmaker had incited violent acts by making the film. This idea that the media is responsible for violence and antisocial behaviour can be seen as scapegoating attempting to apportion blame and reduce a complex problem to a simple solution. Scapegoating suits the simple narratives of both politics and tabloid reporting alike. Both parts of the establishment benefit by providing demons for the public to hate or fear; and they can both look good by adopting a zero tolerance stance against these demons. Tabloids can call for censorship and politicians can reinforce these calls. Both then appear to be acting in the public interest even if the real cause of events such as these is not fully addressed.

The Desensitisation Argument: Horror Violence Another area of the media that has been demonised many times is the horror genre. Since the early days of film horror this genre has created controversy and caused concern as to the effect on the audience of seeing disturbing and violent images. This came to a head when there was a moral panic over the availability of uncensored and unregulated video nasties in the 1980s. When home video technology was first available in the 80s, there were no restrictions on the distribution of films on video other than the ones imposed by the film industry itself. Blockbuster films were not available on video (film studios were worried about income loss) and so early video culture was dominated by budget films, many of which were horror films of varying quality. Many concerns were raised as to the effects that exposure to these ideas and images might have on the viewing audience. Assumptions from the hypodermic syringe theory were made; and once regulation was put in place many films including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left and The Exorcist were banned from video release. Even though direct effect theories are too simplistic, the horror genre provides some potential evidence that repeated access to types of imagery (and potentially attitudes and ideas too) can cause desensitisation in the audience. Put simply, audiences become used to the type of violence that they access in films and therefore if they are to experience the same visceral pleasures, the violence needs to increase. Early horror had barely any onscreen violence, and scares were generated through the creation of atmosphere rather than gore. It wasn t until the late 1960s that horror started to become more visceral and literal in the violence it showed. Creaky doors and foggy moors had become cliché and passé at that point, and there has been a slow but steady acceptance of more and more explicitly violent images. Recently CGI has replaced physical effects in modern horror, and so contemporary gore tends to appear more realistic. Audiences are clearly less shocked at the shocking images of horror from previous decades and as the images have become more graphic audiences need more and more visceral experiences to be able to respond with the emotions related to the genre; revulsion, shock and fear. Evidence of this escalation can be seen in the tortureporn sub-genre with films like Hostel and most specifically Saw increasing the levels of graphic realism in their imagery in an attempt to continue to shock and horrify their viewers. Some of the images shown on mainstream TV today in series like CSI are explicit and gruesome, suggesting that modern audiences are far less likely to be shocked, and providing evidence that we may have become desensitised to violent imagery as we have seen more of it. Gaming The violence of computer/console games has led to bans, restriction of sales through classification, censorship and hundreds (indeed, probably thousands) of panicked articles on the negative influence games have on their audience. Amongst other things, games are accused of reducing attention spans, desensitising young people to violent imagery, stunting social development and creating anti-social desires. The case for gaming has not been helped by reports of young men dying of exhaustion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm) or deep vein thrombosis (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-14350216) at their PCs whilst gaming or by the many cases where real world violence has been linked to gaming culture. For example, a shooting in Holland in April 2011 was linked to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

2 and a French man retaliated against an in-game stabbing by actually stabbing his gaming opponent. Many research studies have been undertaken in this field. Some findings appear to suggest that games can heighten violent traits, normalise violent acts and can be a catalyst for violence when combined with other factors personality disorders, environmental pressures etc. Ferguson s study in the area states that media texts have a weaker level of influence than the other factors cited whereas Kooijmanns gives more credence to the direct influence of gaming on behaviour. Some see gaming quite differently; and there is an argument that violent games can relieve stress and dilute violent impulses as the player acts them out in a safe, non-destructive environment. Even if researchers cannot agree as to how dangerous gaming may or may not be, what is clear is that the texts that cause most concern are almost invariably mass media products created with a primary function to entertain mainstream audiences. High art such as opera, literature and painting is often revered because it is difficult, and requires some form of intellectual engagement. Low art, whether a computer game or a horror film, The X Factor or Pirates of the Caribbean, is about being both easy to access and creating an emotional response. Cultural products that provide simple entertainment are seen as more dangerous than those products deemed art. Perhaps it is simply the size of the audience that causes concern, as these texts will be experienced by more people. However, when looking at the areas that generate moral panics it becomes clear that one of the concerns is the stimulation of emotion or desire in this mass audience. Sex and Violence The most problematic texts are those that challenge contemporary social norms. Sex and violence, as we have seen, are the main problem areas. Overtly sexual representations, imagery and liberal sexual values have the potential to create cultural shockwaves. Much concern has been focused recently on the sexualisation of young girls in the media and in society generally. When YouTube accepts videos from pre-teens covering songs by performers who regularly use overt sexuality as a marketing tool, people become uncomfortable and the artists themselves are blamed; but the values of the audience that keeps this market alive are not questioned. Sexualising young females is what the fashion/magazine/beauty industries and advertising do. Sexualising and fetishising youth helps generate low self-esteem around ageing and helps to keep the fashion/beauty industry alive. In addition, the way tabloids report outrage is often questionable. The Daily Mail used photographs and screen grabs of Rihanna after her X Factor performance that ensured that the most offensive images were replicated; and they were clearly intended to provide a voyeuristic sexual pleasure for the audience (whilst they were getting more outraged of course). The social taboo of taking pleasure in violence could go some way to explain why computer games have been problematic. It is frequently argued that games such as GTA encourage consequence-free violence for its own sake through the narrative of the game. Players in these types of games can immerse themselves in the narratives; and the game-play means that they identify with the violent protagonists and receive rewards for violent actions. Unlike an action film which bases its violence on justifiable motivation like revenge, survival or saving the family/state etc. the violence in games is largely perceived as unjustified and presented as fun or just a way to pass the time; it is therefore more likely to be seen as morally reprehensible. Fantasy

Texts which encourage escape into imaginary fantasy worlds are also seen as potentially dangerous and therefore of concern. The taboo of gratuitous violence can be explained by a discomfort in people receiving pleasure from what would be criminal acts. The fear of the breaking of sexual taboos within media texts speaks of a mainstream sexual morality that does not tally with an audience s expression of sexual desire; but perhaps it is the fear of the fantastical that tells us most about the motivations behind moral outrages and panics. Fantasy escapism is imagining the possibility of an alternative social/political structure and this has been identified by the Slavonic philosopher and cultural critic Zizek as being a pleasurable experience (he uses the term jouissance) especially where reality provides little in the way of pleasure. However, too much consideration of alternatives could be potentially threatening to the status quo, which maintains its power by normalising its own values. Recently a new demon has risen and communication tools such as Facebook have generated many concerned discussions about the way people are spending their leisure time. The conservative American social historian Caitlin Flanagan in her recent book Girl Land has created much on-line debate by suggesting that social networking is particularly problematic for girls. This is because of the social pressures created by the 24/7 socialising, particularly the peer-pressure and self-esteem issues generated by a world where privacy is practically non-existent. The rise of digital media and new communication tools have also made old forms of censorship and control practically redundant. Technology has made controlling people s leisure time much more difficult. If the BBFC refuse a film a certificate or if the BBC ban a song from their playlist, these controlled texts can be accessed in any number of ways regardless. The internet means that effectively there is no such thing as a banned or censored media text any more; thus the ability to control the viewing of sexual, violent and fantasy images has largely vanished. However, this doesn t stop the establishment trying to control. Julian Assange has become a well-known figure due to his website Wikileaks publishing previously restricted information. Assange was called a terrorist for his actions and is currently involved in unrelated legal proceedings which may see him extradited to Sweden. There is speculation that from there he may be extradited to the US where he could face serious national security charges. On the 18th Jan 2012 Wikipedia shut itself down for 24 hours in a protest against SOPA (the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act in the USA) as the site s creators believe that the act would threaten Wikipedia directly and freedom of information on the internet generally. This highprofile protest highlighted the political and legal conflict that is ongoing between some new media producers and governments as restrictions are both put in place and resisted. If censorship reflects the cultural values of the establishment, then what gets restricted changes as a culture s values alter. The cover for the Beatles album Abbey Road was acceptable in 1969 but has been edited to reflect recent changes in attitudes to smoking (it should be noted this censorship was done in the USA and did not have Apple Record s approval). Much of the restrictions today are centred on the flow of information, electronic reproduction, copyright and ownership of digital material. The values under threat are those based around profit generation. History tells us that too much pleasure in our leisure time can strike fear into the heart of mainstream culture sexual, violent or escapist pleasure has been censored and controlled again and again; but in doing so acceptable versions of these pleasures have been packaged and sold, creating vast profits for those involved. Increasingly we are indulging our leisure time pleasures for free, and away from any form of central control. Dangerous games indeed.

Steph Hendry is a Lecturer in Media Studies at Runshaw College, Lancashire. She is a Senior Examiner, freelance writer and trainer. Follow it up Ferguson, C. J: http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/07/video-games-dont-make-kidsviolent/ Kooijmans, T.A.: http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html Papadopulous, L: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100418065544/http:/homeoffice.go v.uk/documents/sexualisation-of-young-people.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/feb/03/girl-land-caitlin-flanagan-review On Moral Panics around comics, and much more: Barker, M.: Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics, Manchester University Press 1989. On Moral Panics around the media/violence debate: Barker, M. and Petley, J.: Ill Effects, Routledge, 2001 This article was first published in MediaMagazine 40, April 2012: the Play issue top